A cable lock alarm allows for protection of one's property. Cable lock alarms such as the cable lock alarm A shown at FIG. 3 have a lock body unit, from which extends a length of metal cable. When a cable lock alarm is locked and activated, cutting the metal cable, or tampering with the lock body results in a high decibel alarm. The alarm feature of a cable lock alarm renders it superior to many conventional cable lock devices.
Cable lock alarms are currently manufactured having cable lengths of 8 feet, 15 feet, 30 feet, and 60 feet. For lengths of 8 feet and 15 feet, the cable wraps around the lock body, and is held in place by an attached clip. With cable lengths of 30 feet and 60 feet, there is no convenient method of storing the excess cable. The current invention addresses that problem.
Cable alarm locks are known in the art. However, the usefulness of currently available cable alarm locks is limited by the limited storage capacity provided for the cable. This limited storage capacity reduces the convenience of cable locks with longer cables needed to protect large items that are nonetheless portable, or multiple items, with a single cable alarm lock.
Most devices in the prior art store the cable within a housing of fixed size which severely limits the length of cable that may be accommodated—often to a length that can protect only a single bicycle or similar sized object. No means are provided to store a cable longer than the original design, or for extension cables that might be added after manufacture. Accommodating longer cables would entail expensive redesign of the entire lock housing.
Some prior art devices do provide external cable stowage, but the maximum cable length that may be conveniently stowed is again limited by the dimensions of the housing, which determine the maximum depth of the cable stowage slots. Typically a maximum of approximately 8-15 feet of cable length may be stowed. In either case described—devices with internal cable stowage or external stowage—manufacturers do not have the ability to easily and inexpensively expand the cable stowage capacity of the device. Additionally, users may wish to add extension cables to a cable alarm lock to protect large items or multiple smaller items.
As an example, the cable lock alarm shown at FIG. 3 shows a cable alarm lock with external cable stowage built into the alarm/lock housing. The built-in stowage capacity cannot accommodate cables with length greater than approximately 15 feet. In order to conveniently stow these longer cables, such as cable lengths of 30 feet or 60 feet the manufacturer would have to design, manufacture, and distribute units with different sized housings, depending on the cable length. Producing multiple versions of the same product in different sizes would necessarily increase overall production and distribution costs. Alternatively, the manufacturer might produce a single size housing, but large enough to accommodate the longest cable length. This would result in a product that was unnecessarily large and expensive for users who need only the smaller cable lengths to secure a single bicycle or similar item. Either alternative is unattractive.
As another example, a user may purchase a cable alarm lock to protect the single bicycle (or similar item) they currently own, but later wish to expand the cable lock capacity to accommodate several bicycles, perhaps owned by their family members. The user might therefore add a cable extender provided by the manufacturer to the original cable. But, without convenient means to stow the extra cable length the cable alarm lock would become difficult to store and transport, thereby reducing its usefulness. The user would thus be forced to bear the expense of purchasing several cable alarm locks or to forgo much of the usefulness of the device derived from convenient stowage of the cable. Numerous other examples could be shown to demonstrate the disadvantages of cable alarm locks with cable stowage capacity limited by the dimensions of the manufactured device housing.
A number of devices have provided cable locks with anti-tamper alarms, but lack the ability to conveniently stow long cables. Presently known art is unable to address this problem without expensive redesign of manufactured products. The following represents a list of known related art:
Reference:Issued to:Date of Issue:U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,603YuJan. 27, 2004U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,719StukasFeb. 27, 2001U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,744LingMay 9, 2000U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,752ZellerNov. 10, 1998U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,759LingJul. 28, 1998U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,727WhiteFeb. 4, 1997U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,028JiangOct. 20, 1992U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,596SirmanJun. 11, 1991U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,517LingJan. 30, 1990U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,188DalabaOct. 11, 1988U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,724SakaiMay 19, 1987U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,806PapandreaOct. 1, 1985U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,099SmithJul. 4, 1978U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,758HurwittSep. 23, 1975U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,540Smith, IIJul. 16, 1974
The teachings of each of the above-listed citations (which does not itself incorporate essential material by reference) are herein incorporated by reference. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
Several of the above-listed citations teach the use of a locking device utilizing a cable where the cable retracts into and is stowed within the lock housing, using both automatic and manual methods for reeling the cable into and out of the housing. Examples are U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,603 to Yu, U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,719 to Stukas, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,786,759 and 4,896,517 to Ling, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,099 to Smith. Some of these references also teach the use of anti-tamper alarms combined with a cable lock. Examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,786,759 and 4,896,517 to Ling, U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,596 to Sirman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,188 to Dalaba, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,540 to Smith. In the existing art, the maximum cable length which can be conveniently stowed is limited by the physical dimensions of the housing containing the lock and alarm mechanisms.
Thus, the foregoing body of art shows it is well known to have a lock using a cable combined with anti-tamper alarms. However, the art described above does not teach or suggest a device for increasing the stowage capacity of cable alarm locks by adding an external cable reel to accommodate longer lengths of cable, such as cables greater than approximately 15 feet in length. Nor do prior art devices provide for the ability to add additional cable length after manufacture or replace the original cable with a longer cable, since their internal and external stowage arrangements cannot accommodate the added cable length.